Zoleka Mandela has taken to social media to remind fans that no one is exempt from addiction, not even the granddaughter of the late Nelson Mandela.
Zoleka posted an old picture of herself on Instagram to show fans her struggle with booze and drug addiction.
Alongside the photo, she wrote: “I took this picture in 2009, heavy into my addiction to cocaine and alcohol. This was what I looked like on a good day, I thought I looked cute but I looked like the very Hell I was causing my kids and my family (sic).”
She continues: “Weekends felt like one day, an entire weekend without showering or brushing my teeth... I was overweight but I barely ate as much as I drank or snorted cocaine.
And she warns drugs and alcohol are not good for your looks.
She says: “I had a phuza face. Look how swollen my face is in this picture? Alcohol causes that puffiness, dehydrates the skin and body...”
Ugly
She was 10 years on her “drug of choice” cocaine.
“I’d sleep with make up on and if I had to go somewhere, I’d reapply it... I felt so ugly on the inside though.”
“Most of the time, I just wanted to die... I was depressed and suicidal and the only things that made me feel better about myself was men, sex, alcohol and drugs!”
She concluded: “Next month on the 11th of August, I will celebrate being 6yrs clean and sober! Sobriety saved my life.”